Category: Umbria

No one knows when exactly this lovely little temple on the river Clitunno was built. One thing is certain though: it is not really a little temple. The Tempietto is and has always been a Christian edifice, probably a church (there is an altar), but perhaps a mausoleum as well.…

The Italian region of Umbria is a modern creation. Historically, the region where the Ancient Umbrians lived, ‘the oldest of the peoples of Italy’[1], was both much smaller and much larger. It was smaller because the western part of modern Umbria was in the hands of the Etruscans, who lived…

Gubbio’s Piazza Grande, a gigantic platform supported by walls and arcades, offers a panoramic view of the surrounding area. From the square one can for instance see the churches of San Giovanni Battista and San Francesco in the lower part of town, and the Duomo higher up the slope of…

People who want to visit the church of Sant’Ubaldo high up the slope of Monte Ingino basically have three options. If they are lazy, they can go by car, which should take about 10 minutes from downtown Gubbio. A more challenging option is to go on foot. From the Palazzo…

After our visit to the Duomo of Gubbio, we spotted a poster about an interesting exhibition in the former Ducal Palace opposite the cathedral. The title of the exhibition was “Gubbio al tempo di Giotto. Tesori d’arte nella terra di Oderisi”, which translates as “Gubbio in the era of Giotto.…

The Duomo is often the most beautiful and most richly decorated religious building of a city or town. The Duomo of Gubbio or cathedral of Santi Mariano e Giacomo is unfortunately an exception. It is a dark and chilly building with a slightly gloomy atmosphere. Most Italian cathedrals adjoin large…

The church of San Domenico is by far the most peculiar building in all of Gubbio. Just take a look at its unfinished facade, which is higher on the right than on the left. Opposite the church is a nice restaurant called Trattoria San Martino, the name of which gives…

The church of San Giovanni Battista has one of the best locations in all of Gubbio. The town is built on a series of terraces against the slope of Monte Ingino. From the square in front of the San Giovanni Battista one has a nice view of the first terrace,…

When visiting churches, looks can be very deceiving. I had taken a look at the rather unimpressive late eighteenth century facade of the church of Sant’Agostino, and upon stepping inside had never expected to find gorgeous frescoes from the fifteenth century both in the apse of the church and on…

Establishing the exact chronology of the life of Saint Franciscus of Assisi (1181/82-1226) is impossible, but it must have been in about the summer of 1206 that he first visited the town of Gubbio, some 30 kilometres and at least a day’s walk north of Assisi. Franciscus had a friend…

The church of San Francesco is located right next to the archaeological museum of Amelia. It replaced an earlier parish church dedicated to Saints Philip and James. My travel guide actually still calls the building the church of Santi Filippo e Giacomo, and this caused some confusion at the tourist…

The main reason we wanted to visit the lovely town of Amelia was its archaeological museum. This museum has a larger-than-life bronze statue of the Roman general Germanicus (15 BCE-19 CE) on display. Germanicus was a son of Nero Claudius Drusus, brother of the emperor Tiberius. Drusus had died in…

It took us a while to find the ruins of Carsulae, one of the most interesting archaeological sites in all of Umbria. This is a place where history becomes tangible and people from the twenty-first century can walk in the footsteps of Roman travellers, soldiers and traders. Carsulae was a…

I do not usually discuss a museum and a church in one post, but in this case the church is actually part of the museum. The church of Sant’Eufemia cannot even be visited separately; it can only be entered from the museum and potential visitors therefore have to buy a…

The church of San Gregorio Maggiore could easily be mistaken for a smaller version of the Duomo of Spoleto. Even though there are a few differences and the huge campanile is on the right instead of the left, the similarities are hard to miss. My first attempt to visit the…

The area around Spoleto has been inhabited since at least the eighth century BCE. Rich grave finds from several necropolises demonstrate that there must have been a settlement here of some importance. Excavations in 2008-2009 in the Piazza d’Armi, north of the railway station, have for instance uncovered the tomb…

As the name of the church of San Paolo inter vineas suggests, it is located outside the city walls of Spoleto, ‘in the vineyards’. It is part of a ring of very old churches on the eastern and southern edges of the city, a ring that includes churches such as…

The San Pietro is located south of the historical centre of Spoleto, at the foot of the Monteluco. The church is and has always been outside the city walls and is therefore also known as San Pietro extra moenia or San Pietro fuori le Mura. It occupies a site that…

Our visit to Spoleto started at the church of San Ponziano, which is located on the slope of the Colle Ciciano, northeast of the historical city centre. It is dedicated to Pontianus of Spoleto, a young man who was said to have been martyred during the reign of the Roman…

One of the first things one should know about the small church of Santi Giovanni e Paolo is that it is not dedicated to the apostles John and Paul, even though some travel guides may state otherwise. The Giovanni and Paolo of the church are two brothers who supposedly lived…